When life isn't sweet

CHOCOLATE'S image as the perfect comfort food has taken a knock, for men at least. It seems that life's little tragedies - missing the bus, losing the Ryder Cup - don't spur guys to reach for that box of Belgian chocolates.

Michael Macht and his colleagues at the University of Würzburg in Germany induced different emotions in 48 men by showing them clips from popular films (Appetite, vol 39, p 147). For example, the infamous fake orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally was best for putting a smile on their faces. The researchers found that happy volunteers rated chocolate as more tasty and wanted more, while sad ones said the opposite. The finding contradicts the results of a similar study on women.

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